Table tennis, or ping-pong as it is often called, utilizes, in its most common form, a table having two independent playing stations divided by a vertically-oriented net of generally uniform height. The game is thus limited to two players or two teams of typically two players each. At social functions with many attendees where table tennis is being played, the queue for an opportunity to play can seem interminably long. The prior art has addressed this problem in a number of ways. U.S. Pat. No. 3,452,985 to Cornelius J. D'Zmura discloses a game table having a circular playing surface which is divided by intersecting nets into three or four playing stations. The game is played with rules similar to those of table tennis, except that points are accumulated on a negative basis. Any player who accumulates a set number of negative points drops out of play and is replaced by a new player. U.S. Pat. No. 4,108,434 to George R. Royer and U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,395 to Guenter Arndt both disclose game tables that are variations on the theme of '985 patent to D'Zmura. Royer discloses a table tennis game for four players having an upper playing surface divided into four quadrants by four nets, each of which extend radially from an open cylindrical member centered in the table. The Arndt table, on the other hand, discloses a table tennis game having a table with multiple nets attached to a rotatable central hub. A conical member extends from net height above the hub, and a sphere is attached on a stalk above the conical member. The conical member and sphere are playing surfaces which add additional excitement to the game.
One of the problems associated with large, three-and-four-station tables is that they do not lend themselves to compact storage. Another problem associated with net-based games is that the nets frequently become misadjusted or slack.
What is needed is a game table for a table tennis type game, which not only provides up to four separate playing stations, but which also eliminates the use of nets and solves the storage problem heretofore described.